


Strong Yet Weak

by AudacityOfHuge



Category: Watership Down - Richard Adams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-21
Updated: 2005-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-25 03:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1629908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AudacityOfHuge/pseuds/AudacityOfHuge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>El-ahrairah works in mysterious ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strong Yet Weak

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Merlin Missy

 

 

Prologue

The night was brisk and bright, the illumination from the stars and moon unhindered by clouds. Skeletons of trees cast shadows as crisp as the leaves on the ground. No crickets chirped, no wind blew, no grass whispered to the air. Fu-Inle was heavy upon Watership Down, and the world was still, its breath held, preparing for the sigh of the frost.

In the burrows, the rabbits lay together, the heat from their own bodies creating a calm atmosphere and stillness as stark as the one outside. The occasional kick of a back leg, the twitch of an ear, the crumpling of a nose, none of these broke the stillness that ultimately prevailed. The rabbits of Watership were caught up in a dreamless sleep, deep and comforting.

Near the entrance to the burrow lay Blackavar, just as calm as the rest of them. His body was pressed against those of Thayli and Pipkin, and his leg rested atop the haunch of Blackberry. Without movement, his eyes opened and he stared up the burrow, and there, outlined against the moon, was a rabbit. Blackavar was immediately awake.

"Come," said a voice smooth like the sun's movement across the sky.

Blackavar disentangled himself and went up the run, hopping surely across the down to meet his companion, who did not turn to acknowledge him. The stranger's ears were large and sparkled like the stars above, and Blackavar felt ashamed at his own mangled body. "Do not feel that way, Blackavar," said the stranger, and he turned his head to bump against the tattered remains of Blackavar's ears. "Soon, you will come to understand that your strengths lie elsewhere."

They huddled together in the chilly night air, shadows falling across their backs.

"The Black Rabbit has much trickery, my friend. What must be must be, but not everything must be."

"I do not understand, my lord," said Blackavar quietly, and his words seemed at once strong and hesitant.

El-ahrairah once again bumped the other rabbit. "Yes, you do." The Prince stood and took one step away. "You show great potential. You would do well in my Owsla." For the first time, they looked at each other, and the stillness was grave and all around them. "The Black Rabbit will challenge you, and you must win. Just know that you will keep running, my son, and you will become the thing of legends."

And with one great kick of his powerful back legs, the Prince with a Thousand Enemies was gone over the down.

In the burrow, Blackavar awoke. It was the first dream he had ever had.

Chapter One

It was with a great deal of hesitation that Blackavar approached Fiver the following morning. The sun had dispersed all trace of the cold, and all along the down rabbits were playfully running about and enjoying the last of the warm days. The winter burrows had been dug out and soon the rabbits would be enduring the hardships of the frost and snow together. The promise of cold was in the back of each rabbit's mind, and they instinctually ate as much as they could, trying to fatten up before the long months of starvation.

And as such, Fiver was now enjoying a particularly long patch of grass, nibbling absently, seemingly lost in his own world. Nearby, his doe, Vilthural, was overseeing their kitten's play, making sure none of them harmed each other. Sensing this opportunity to speak with the other rabbit alone, he nibbled his way over, finally stopping next to Fiver, who he knew understood his need to talk without outwardly acknowledging his presence.

This was an awkward affair for Blackavar. It was rare for him to need help, and rarer still for him to need help from anyone but Thayli. Blackavar was not the type to believe in or particularly care about the supposed "abilities" that he had heard Fiver possessed, and as such, he had never really conversed one-on-one with the Sandlefield veteran. But he knew that Thayli trusted him, and so when the dream had come to Blackavar, he knew what he had to do.

"I've heard that you're the fellow to see about visions and such," he began, always brisk and to-the-point.

"Is that what they're saying about me these days?" was Fiver's quietly amused reply. One of the things that bothered Blackavar about Fiver was his detached nature, the way that he never seemed to be truly paying attention. This was the same thing that bothered Thlayli about Fiver, as the large rabbit had told him, and it made Blackavar proud to think of the two of them being so similar.

Nose twitching, Blackavar sniffed at the grass and said, "Er, yes, I suppose. In any case, I've had a peculiar dream, and I was wondering what you might make of it."

Finally, Fiver looked at him, and Blackavar, for some reason, straightened and tried to make himself look at big as possible. "Let's hear it, then."

There on the grass on that fine morning, Blackavar told of his dream, of his meeting with El-ahrairah and of what he guessed was a warning.

When he had finished, he found himself deflating. He settled down next to the other rabbit and munched on the grass to allow for pondering time. But Fiver did not appear to need any time, and he said shortly, "Well, I suppose if El-ahrairah said it, you should believe it. You will be challenged by the Black Rabbit, and you should win."

Blackavar tried to resist the urge to rear up and cuff the other rabbit over the head.

Instead, he began to hop away while saying, "Right, thanks."

And that was the end of his first one-on-one encounter with the younger brother of his chief rabbit.

Later, alone in a burrow, Blackavar pondered what El-ahrairah had said, and what Fiver had said. "Well, a great lot of luck I'm having these days," he thought to himself. "Getting my sleep disturbed, and then getting myself upset over a stupid dream. I don't even have dreams usually." His nose twitched at this thought. "But then perhaps that is reason enough to believe it? Is it a message from El-ahrairah? Frith on a hill! I need a message from El-ahrairah to know if it's a message from El-ahrairah! In any case, I should be careful."

Chapter 2

Blackavar did not think of the dream again for a long while. When winter settles upon a down, little else is on the mind of rabbits. They concern themselves with eating as much as possible and getting out some of their restless energy. Blackavar went on a wide patrol with Bigwig and Holly that lasted for the last two warm days of fall, and once they got back, the frost settled in. At first it was just enough to make the grass crispy and unappetizing, but then the clouds blocked the sun and a snowfall began to build overhead.

The rabbits of Watership Down were all huddled together in the expanding winter burrows, warm and safe, as this happened. When it began to snow, the rabbits smelled it and heard it, but they did not go out to look at it. The snow fell steadily for an hour, causing about an inch on the ground, but then stopped almost completely. During this time, for no apparent reason, Blackavar felt compelled to go above ground.

It was a different world in the snow. His paws were uncomfortable wet and cold, and he resisted the urge to jump and dart back underground. No birds sang, no mice scuttled, no bugs could be heard under the dirt. Everything was still.

Still... Quiet...

Blackavar was once again in the field at night with the Prince. He bumped noses with his companion.

And then he was back in the snow-covered field, no longer minding the cold. He was the rabbit of the cold. He was at peace with the world, the air, and the ground. Inhaling deeply, he smelled everything around him--the snow, the trees, and... rabbit. The scent of a rabbit he had never smelled before.

He stamped once, the sound muffled by the snow. He cautiously peered in the direction of the scent, but saw nothing. Cautiously, he took a small hop forward, sensed still perked to their highest point. The smell was getting stronger, the other rabbit headed right for him. But still, Blackavar did not see it. Finally, he heard the voice, "Hello."

The rabbit was as white as the snow. The sun reflected off her fur in the same way that it did the snow. If it weren't for the pink of her ears, he might never have seen her.

But why had this rabbit approached him so willingly? It was not in the usual manner of rabbits. Creatures of caution, rabbits had a tendency to hop, pause, sniff, hop, pause, sniff... But this rabbit, this snow-white beauty, had come right up to the large, scarred Blackavar.

"Who are you?" he demanded in his best Efrafan tone.

"I'm a friend. My name is Willow. I've been journeying a long time. I'm freezing and I need shelter from the snow."

At these words, Blackavar was no longer rabbit-of-the-snow, and he felt his body tremble in an effort to fight off the biting cold. He wanted to go back into the burrow with the other rabbits and lick the moisture out of his fur, but he knew he could not without dealing with the stranger. She approached him even closer, her nose almost bumping his. He could feel how cold her body was, even at this distance. Something inside him wanted to help this stranger, and he knew without a doubt that she was not dangerous.

"Come on, then," he said finally. "Before we freeze our whiskers off."

The rabbits below ground responded well to the newcomer. They crowded around her, letting their bodies warm hers. Blackavar found himself squished between her and Hazel, who seemed perfectly happy with the arrangements. "So where have you come from?" asked the chief rabbit, after proper introductions were exchanged.

"Oh my, I believe that's a very difficult question to answer," Willow began. "Well, I was born in the wild, grew up there and everything. I lived on a wonderful down with a nice little warren. But then one day I was out feeding and I was captured by a little human boy. He liked my fur, you see." There was a rustled of approval; the doe's fur seemed to shine in the darkness of the burrow. "He took me to his home. This was a long, long way from here, farther than I should ever expect to go again. Here, there are hardly any human dwellings, but where I come from, there are hrair. The stone paths are wide enough to fit four hrududu, and they are many and winding. Humans walk along the side of them, and they have several other types of contraptions that they use to get around."

A stunned silence settled into the burrow. Finally, Blackberry asked, "How could you live so close to the humans?"

"I know this will be hard for you to understand, but the humans where I used to live never had gardens. There was no need for them to harm us, since they had nothing to destroy."

The idea of a possible symbiosis between humans and rabbits had never occurred to any of the Watership rabbits before. Because of this, Willow's words washed right over most of them; they did not make any sense to them, and thus did not need to be considered. Blackberry, Fiver, and Blackavar, however, marveled at this idea. A human having no need to destroy a rabbit! Preposterous!

"When this boy took me into his home, though," Willow continued, "everything changed. My life suddenly depended on them. For the first couple of days I was fighting off tharn. I tried to remain lively, but it was difficult for me to keep my spirits up--I missed siflay, I missed the sun and the moon.

"But I soon grew to accept my fate. I had no other choice! I could either live with the humans or die because of the humans, and so I lived. I learned a lot about the humans. They are tight-knit, but at the same time they are hardly ever together. They are solitary and yet social. They are strong and yet weak."

These words echoed around inside Blackavar's brain. Strong and yet weak...

For the first time, Pipkin spoke up from the back of the burrow. His voice was quiet and timid, almost fearful. "But weren't you scared?" he asked in a hushed way.

"No. I was not. I knew that the humans did not want to hurt me. In fact, the boy quite liked me. He often would run his hands down my back--it felt quite good actually. And he could always find this one spot right behind my ear that when he scratched it, it felt... It felt as though all my troubles just melted away! I liked it so very much.

"Eventually, summer came and the humans took me in their hrududu to the country. I do not know how long I was in that thing, but it was more than half a day. Once all the humans left the hrududu and I was in it all alone! I thought I was going to be eaten!

When they finally brought me out of that accursed place, I was among rolling hills and green grass, and I knew I had to get away. So first chance I got, I bolted. I ran and ran for a long time, until I was sure I was not being followed, and then I was alone, just a lone rabbit with nowhere to go. I journeyed for many days, sometimes staying with other rabbits for a while until I left again. I found that above-ground life suits me. But now winter has come, and in the spring I shall want to have kittens, so I hope that I can find your warren a comfortable place to stay."

Blackavar's back leg twitched of its own accord, and he muttered, "It's an impressive story, to be sure. But why, if you're so accustomed to above-ground life, did you approach me as though we were old friends?"

Willow's answer was with a matter-of-fact tone about it, and she said, "Well, I suppose I saw no reason to fear you. A rabbit's a rabbit, right?"

Astonished, Blackavar simply replied, "Right."

Chapter Three

Winter moved along, as it is wont to do. The rabbits found themselves totally entranced with Willow, who had a way with storytelling. She could make the Black Rabbit's cave seem cold and dreary all around them, even though the burrow was actually warm with body heat and filled with a light, happy spirit. She could brighten the sunshine with random, fanciful stories of made-up El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle tales. But most of all, she could make the rabbits marvel at her own experiences, impress them with tricks worthy of the Prince himself, dazzle them with her knowledge of the humans.

Yes, it was safe to say that the rabbits loved her right away. Even though she had a lot to share, she always was willing to listen, too. She loved hearing about the journey from Sandleford, and of Bigwig's daring trials at Efrafa, and even of Hyzenthlay's secret river. But most of all, it seemed, she was interested in Blackavar's tales of Efrafan life.

"Unbelievable!" she muttered, after hearing about how they had torn his ears. She pressed her nose to his head and gently licked the scars, as though they might still be hurting him.

The thaw finally came, and the rabbits returned to the Honeycomb. Life moved on, and soon the mating season was upon them. As everyone expected, Willow took Blackavar as her mate, and she became heavy with kitten. The two could often be seen grazing the fields, talking and exchanging stories and jokes. It was a running sentiment in the warren that no one could wait for the kittens to be born; the two would certainly produce fine offspring.

One evening in late March, the rabbits were beginning to drift back towards their holes for the night. Blackavar and Willow were taking their time, letting themselves enjoy the setting sun. "Oh look," said Blackavar, "I've found a bit of clover. Come have some."

As Willow came over, the sudden urge to flee came over Blackavar. For there, standing directly behind where Willow had been, was the Black Rabbit of Inle.

But none of the other rabbits seemed to notice him. The Black Rabbit and Blackavar stared at each other for a good long while. Willow started on the clover, asked if he was going to have any, but Blackavar did not answer.

Suddenly, the Black Rabbit turned and bounded over the edge of the down, and just exactly where he had gone, two human boys came up over the edge.

Blackavar stamped a number of times in rapid succession, and all the rabbits on the down darted for a hole, including himself and Willow. Willow knew enough about humans to keep away from strange ones that she did not know.

One of the young boys laughed at all the rabbits darting underground. "Look, Tom, see? They won't hurt us--they're scared!"

"But Josh, they could have diseases or something!"

The boy called Tom got down on his stomach in front of a rabbit hole, attempting to look down it. "Naw, they're fine. They won't hurt us. Now come help me get one."

Blackavar and Willow listened to this from underground. They could not, of course, understand what was being said, but something about how the second boy had spoken has struck a chord in Blackavar.

Willow's words came back to him. "Strong but yet weak." A human with no need to destroy a rabbit.

Pipkin was scared... Scared of the humans.

Next to him, Willow shivered in fear. Farther back in the burrow was where Willow had started to pull out her fur to make a next for her kittens.

And suddenly, he knew what to do.

"Willow, let me use a bit of your fur. Eh-ahrairah has shown me the answer!"

Courage is not in a rabbit's nature. When faced with an enemy or a problem, their natural response is to flee. In fact, their bodies are designed for this reaction. Their powerful back legs are built for the sudden dart towards a hole, and their tails provide a warning for their kin.

This is why, when Blackavar, the scarred, tatter-eared rabbit, charged at the boys with what appeared to be white froth coming out of his mouth, they automatically assumed that the rabbit was diseased.

And, screaming, the two boys jumped over the edge of the down and ran home as fast as they could.

Epilogue

After that, Blackavar was hailed as a hero in the warren, at just as high a standing as Hazel, Bigwig and Fiver. He became more social, and happier in general. When Willow gave birth, he devoted himself to his kittens, helping them grow strong and fearless.

Years passed, and when he was much older, he heard some of the younger rabbits telling the story of "El-ahrairah and the White Rabbit." It pleased Blackavar to know that Willow was included in the importance of his story.

One night, while Willow was still above ground, Blackavar once again found himself with El-ahrairah in the moonlit field. "You beat the Black Rabbit of Inle," said the Prince, very proud of his subject.

"Only with the help of others, my lord," was Blackavar's reply.

"Yes, and there are plenty of others in my Owsla. I am sure you will be quite happy there--Your chief rabbit, Hazel, just joined us."

Blackavar felt his spirit and his body lighten. His hearing, suddenly, was better, and he knew that his ears had been restored. "Thank you, my lord." The words did no justice to his gratitude.

As they bounded away across the field, El-ahrairah said, "I have been thinking of adding some does to my Owsla. Have you any suggestions?"

Blackavar looked back at his body, wishing it farewell, and said, "Why yes, I think I do."

 


End file.
